The Vault
2005 – Nick Anvelink Hat Trick! -Joe Verdegan Vintage PG column
Posted on: Saturday November 14, 2020
Nick Anvelink wins three features in one weekend in three different cars?
Mike Mullen’s an IMCA modified rookie?
The Wisconsin Challenge Series @ WIR?
Brett Piontek running ASA?
It must be 2005 – take a trip back to one of my Green Bay Press Gazette columns from May of that year! See where our sport was at in northeast Wisconsin 15 years ago! Enjoy!
Nick Anvelink pulled off the true hat trick in racing this past week.
The second-generation ace from Navarino scored an impressive three feature wins in five nights of racing.
What’s more, the victories were nailed down running two different divisions using three very different race cars.
Starting Friday, Anvelink guided a Larry Shaw chassis IMCA modified to victory against a stout field of 43 machines Friday night at Luxemburg. “No one else runs Larry Shaw modifieds up here and I’m not quite sure why,” said Anvelink. “We haven’t touched the thing all year. Just gassed it up and went. It was fast out of the box. The track was a little choppy in turn one and two but we got the job done.”
Saturday night Anvelink put his WISSOTA late model #15A on the track and into victory lane at Shawano Speedway. To cap off the banner week Anvelink put yet a different late model into victory lane at Powercom Speedzone in Oshkosh Tuesday. The car Anvelink used Tuesday utilized an experimental “spec” or “sealed” engine. “With that engine you give up horsepower but you are able to run 100 lbs. lighter,” Anvelink explained. “Plus, I got to run a twelve inch rear spoiler, which helped us get some bite. That helped make the difference.”
Nick wasn’t the only Anvelink to turn some heads Tuesday night. In his first modified race ever Nick’s brother Jarrod, just 20 years old, not only qualified for the feature in a field of 46 mods but placed an impressive sixth. “Me and dad (fellow racer Terry Anvelink) were just shaking our heads in disbelief,” said Nick Anvelink. “For him to jump into that modified and do as well as he did the first night, it was pretty impressive to say the least.”
A few years ago the Anvelink’s received a windfall of sorts when they got hooked up with central Wisconsin calf rancher Mike Seubert, who sponsors sixteen different race teams and has spent literally millions supporting dirt track racing in Wisconsin. “We’re pretty lucky to have his support, no question,” said Nick Anvelink. “Dad raced on his own money for a long, long time. Seubert gives us a two car hauler, which saves us a ton in gas money.” Anvelink, who was quarterback in high school for the Bonduel Bears, cut his teeth racing in the modified division when he was eighteen, winning track championships at tracks in Antigo and Shawano.
Five years ago Nick began racing with his father in the WISSOTA late models, where he won a championship at Seymour Tri-Oval. “This year our goal is to win the tri-track challenge,” said Anvelink. The tri-track challenge tallies up your top eight finishes all season at tracks in Shawano, Antigo and Seymour. “We figure if you can finish in the top three in points at each track you’ll have a pretty good shot of winning.” The tri-track challenge carries a lucrative top prize of $5,000 cash, plus several other racing product contingencies.
As for the modified, Nick’s also not finished. “There are a few United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) shows in the area. I’d like to hit the ones at Luxemburg and Oshkosh for sure. I enjoy running the mod. But if Jarrod keeps doing well with it maybe we’ll just keep him in it. Who knows.”
As for his father, who’s in the middle of his fourth decade of dirt track racing? “I don’t think he’s going to retire for quite some time yet,” said Nick Anvelink. “Dad’s got enough drive in him yet.”
YOUTH MOVEMENT – A pair of second- generation drivers fared well in their maiden voyages in IMCA-style modifieds at Oshkosh Tuesday. Michael Mullen and Jarrod Anvelink both made the features in a field of 46 cars. Anvelink placed sixth while Michael Mullen failed to start the main after qualifying through a semi-feature.
WIR OPENS – The first super late model race of the season will kick off racing this Sunday at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. The Budweiser/WAPL Spring Classic gets underway with qualifying at 11:30 p.m. and racing at 1 p.m. A 100 lap super late model feature is on tap. The event is the first ever at the track run with the Wisconsin Challenge Series. Last Saturday a handful of series regulars tested at the D-shaped, half-mile paved oval including Wisconsin Rapids’ pilot Mark Eswein, Vesper’s Gary Back, and Merrill brother’s Chris and Jason Weinkauf. A number of local Fox River Racing club competitors are expected to take part in this event, including Green Bay’s Mark Schroeder, Greenleaf’s Tom Hockers, Fox Valley drivers Rod Wheeler, Jeff Van Oudenhoven and Jim Duchow. Also on the card will be the Wisconsin Sport Trucks and the figure 8’s.
RECORD CAR COUNT – Luxemburg Speedway recorded a record car count last Friday night, with 146 machines registered in five different divisions. That number beats the old mark of 137 set in May 2004.
ASA NEWS – Brett Piontek of Green Bay placed 17th in the American Speed Association (ASA) late model series opener at Baer Field, Indiana last weekend. The next series event is tomorrow at Calhoun County Speedway in Springport, Michigan. The event was won by Indiana’s Stephen Leicht.
ROFFERS SECOND – Oneida’s Luke Roffers placed second in the late model feature at the season opening race at Sheboygan County Fair Park in Plymouth last Saturday night. The main event was won by Scott Specht of Sheboygan Falls.
ANTIGO OPENS – Langlade County Speedway in Antigo will open tonight at 7:15 p.m. The weekly program includes WISSOTA late models, IMCA modifieds, WISSOTA street stocks and ASCI trucks. Antigo is part of the Tri-Track Challenge program for late models. Weekly racing continues through Labor day weekend.
SEYMOUR OFF – A planned practice scheduled for this Saturday at Seymour Speedway has been cancelled. Opening night is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 22. Calls placed to NEW DIRT board members for further comment and explanation were not returned.